Is there such a thing as a thieving gene, quite a shocking comment if you don't mind me saying.
There are families of thieves who live by a totally different moral code to most people. They stick together with other likeminded families and intermarry, so they are genetically connected. How much is genetics and how much is way of live which makes them thieves is a good question. The fact that these families see anyone who strikes back against their anti social behaviour in any way as deserving of the family and friends destroying their property or beating them up is frightening.
In their case, the jail sentences which they regularly get should reflect their way of life. As long and hard as they would treat people who, in their opinion, would have wronged them. They get that. Trying to give them a chance or help them avoid reoffending doesn’t compute with them, as this family and others who I have had the misfortune to come across, prove.